How to Notarise an Export Document in Australia

When an overseas buyer or import authority asks for "notarised and legalised export documents", it rarely means one document. It usually means a bundle: a certificate of origin, a commercial invoice, a packing list, perhaps a free sale certificate or manufacturer's declaration, and sometimes a government export certificate for food, agricultural or regulated goods.

The mistake is treating the bundle as one job and sending all of it to a notary. Different documents in it take different routes, and some should not go to a notary at all.

Sort the bundle by who issued each document

This is the point specific to export documents, and doing it first saves the most time and money.

Government-issued certificates. Export certificates issued by a Commonwealth or state agency are public documents. DFAT can authenticate or apostille some Australian public documents directly, where it can verify the issuing official's signature or seal, with no notary involved. Ask DFAT, or the issuing agency, whether your certificate qualifies before paying a notary to handle it.

Chamber of commerce documents. Certificates of origin are commonly issued by chambers of commerce. Some destinations want the chamber document legalised; the route to DFAT and the embassy for a chamber-issued document varies, and the chamber itself will usually know what the destination expects. Ask them.

Documents your company issues. The commercial invoice, packing list, manufacturer's declaration, product specification and any free sale statement you draft yourself are private documents. Before DFAT will act on them, a notary usually has to attest the signature of the officer who signed them. This is the notary's part of the bundle.

Mark each document with its route before booking anyone.

The notary attests the signature, not the product

A free sale certificate or manufacturer's declaration typically states that a product is made in Australia, is lawfully sold here, or meets a standard. A notary cannot verify any of that and does not try to. They attest who signed the statement and that the person had authority to sign for the company.

The statement itself is the company's. Depending on the destination, the officer may be asked to make it as a formal declaration, and making a false declaration has consequences for the person who makes it. Where an importing authority wants product claims independently verified, what it needs is a government certificate or a report from a testing body, not a notarial certificate.

Who signs, and on what authority

For company-issued documents, the signatory attends in person with:

• photo identification, preferably a passport
• evidence the company exists, usually a current ASIC extract
• evidence of their authority to sign export documents: a director listed on the extract, or a board resolution naming them

If you export regularly, a standing resolution naming authorised signatories for export documents avoids producing fresh authority evidence for every shipment. Ask the notary whether they can rely on it at later appointments.

Make the bundle consistent before anything is signed

Exporter and consignee names, addresses, goods descriptions, tariff classifications, quantities, weights and values must agree across every document in the set. A notary will not cross-check them. The importing authority will.

One inconsistency found after legalisation usually means redoing that document's whole chain, and sometimes the others that refer to it. Check the set line by line first. Where the destination wants documents in its own language or in bilingual form, prepare those versions before the notary, so the notarised document is the one that will be presented.

Authentication

Company documents, once notarised, go to DFAT: an apostille for a Hague Apostille Convention country, or authentication then embassy legalisation for other countries. No notary can issue an apostille.

Authentication and legalisation are charged and processed per document, not per shipment. Some embassies want the whole bundle submitted together, some have their own application forms, and some have requirements particular to commercial documents. Contact the embassy before DFAT returns anything to you.

Build the chain into the shipping timeline

Legalisation can take longer than the voyage. If documents must accompany or precede the goods, or payment depends on presenting them, start the chain as soon as the documents can be finalised, and do not assume it can be completed after the goods have left.

What it costs

Notarial fees are not fixed by statute and vary between practitioners. As a market estimate only:

• attesting a company officer's signature on the first document: roughly $100–$200, reflecting the authority check
• each further company document signed at the same appointment: typically less, often in the $30–$80 range

What drives it up for export documents is the count. A bundle of five company documents is five notarial acts, five DFAT fees and, where legalisation applies, five embassy fees. Extra originals, bilingual documents, translation, company authority evidence, and redoing a document after an inconsistency is found all add to that. Chamber and agency fees are separate.

Frequently asked questions

Can the notary certify that my goods are Australian made? No. The notary attests the signature on your declaration, not its content.

Can all the documents go under one notarial certificate? Sometimes a notary can attach one certificate to several documents, but DFAT and embassies may still treat each as separate, and some destinations want each authenticated individually. Ask the embassy before relying on it.

Will a Justice of the Peace do? No. DFAT will not authenticate a JP's signature for use overseas.